Back on the Bandwagon.

I know.  I know.  I'm the prodigal blogger.  I could list my excuses for neglecting my sweet, little personal blog, but you don't want to hear them and they wouldn't change anything anyway, right?  So let's put our behinds in the past past behind us and move right along.

I took a little break from accepting photography clients to be present and spend my weekends with my loves.  Not that I was unbelievably swamped, but busy enough that it put a little wedge of stress on our weekends.  I did spend some time soul searching and picking up my camera for me, though, and during that time I explored the personal projects of some incredibly talented photographers.  I thought, "Wow! I want to do a personal project!"  What would it be?  Street photography?  The homeless of South Orange County?  365 days of my own feet?  Something obscure- out of focus photography?  None of those are really me.

So, my idea was born.  A Year of Mondays.  Instead of attacking my kids with my camera and putting crazy pressure on myself to do a 365 project, I've signed on to shoot a year of our Mondays.  I'm two weeks in and it's been pretty fun!  I'm looking forward to making a book of our memories at the end of the year.

Without further ado, I present our first Monday: July 8th.

There you have it!  Our very first in a year of Mondays.

Things You Never Expect to Say

"Get your naked butt off of the window!"
"That is CHALK, not a snack."
"Ahhh, no shoe eating!!"
"Leave your sister's nostrils alone."

The list could go on forever, honestly.  There are so many times throughout the day where I stop and wonder how many other moms have said the words I've just spoken.  Probably quite a few.  I love that there is a surprise around every corner in this house; oh, how boring my life would be without my three little nutcases.

I suppose we have some catching up to do here, as it's been a while since I've felt like had the time to post all of our happenings.  Easter was fun and we doubled up with a little celebration for our tiny who turned ONE on April 1st!  Of course the kids were up at an ungodly hour on Easter morning, skipping around and singing songs about the glory of the egg hunts to ensue.

I was so excited to get a picture of the three of them in their adorably coordinated, yet not matching, Easter get-ups.  This, ladies and gents, was the best photo I managed to get.  They had zero interest in sitting down and getting their picture taken.  Will was nervous about his uncle's dog running around, Kennedy only wanted to crawl over to (and eat) the fallen grapefruit blossoms in the background, and Kate couldn't stop trying to pick up Kennedy and fling her all around.

Kennedy got her chocolate cupcake on after a little candle/ "Happy Birthday" business.  Imagine the "Mmmmmmm!!!" sound effects to go along with the pictures.  My tiny loves chocolate.  LOVES.

Cliche and unsurprisingly enough, I cannot believe how quickly the last year has passed.  I can't wrap my mind around it all.  It feels like Kennedy has always been ours, always been a special part of our family.  It's only been 12 months, but hot diggity- it's been a great 12 months.

She has a delightfully snorty laugh that I cannot get enough of- I will stop doing almost anything to keep making her laugh that snarfely little giggle.  It's perfection!

And because we all know that I can't just take one out for photos without capturing some of the others...

 

My sweet and amazingly talented friend, Mandi, made Kennedy THE most beautiful cake for her birthday!  Honestly, it was a work of art.  It's hard to cut into such a beautiful creation, but I wouldn't have wanted to put all of her hard work to waste.  Really, though- look at this thing.

So amazing!  And delicious.  Absurdly delicious.  Also, if you never have the chance to sample Mandi's lemon curd, then I feel sorry for you.

Perhaps you noticed in the tractor photo that Katie got a bit of a haircut?  Several weeks ago she came home from school declaring that she wanted to have her hair cut and donate it to Locks of Love.  How proud was I?  A year ago, she would've run screaming at the mere thought of cutting her Rapunzelesque locks (because after all, her beloved Disney Princesses all have long hair).  Her heart, though wanted to give a gift and THAT, my friends, was a big moment.



Eleven inches later, this pretty, blonde ponytail was banded up and put in an envelope!
 

She looks like such a big girl now!  Kills me!!

The end of March/ beginning of April were slightly rough in the wellness department for all of us, but we powered through and I feel like the beautiful, warm spring is finally here and we are enjoying our phenomenal backyard!

The backyard was the cherry on top when we first looked at our house back in December of 2009.  I remember falling madly in love with the layout, the atmosphere, the natural light in the breakfast nook and the giant living room windows; then came the backyard.  I was early in my pregnancy with Will and immediately upon walking through the back sliding door, my heart jumped at the thought of my babies riding tricycles and playing with the hose in the beautiful backyard.  It's quite a gem in the sea of South Orange County concrete patios.

I'll finish up with a thought about each of my little ducks that I would love to remember forever (and hence, I have to write it down).

This guy.  He's sweet and charming; a real clown.  His kryptonite: my camera.  He sees it come out and usually just declares, "No." while walking away.  I'm learning to embrace this fact and to love the reality of his ornery, 2.5 year old self.

Tiny is a student of her sister and brother.  They make her laugh in a way that I cannot.  They urge her to do things she shouldn't be doing, and she loves every minute of their mischief.  Her personality is really blossoming and methinks she is going to be a little firecracker!

My sweet faced girl is developing a delicious smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks that make me melt when she crinkles her nose and laughs!  They ALSO make my heart give out when I'm trying to be serious/ discipline.  How do you lay the law down on a face this precious?  Sigh.

I'd say that pretty well sums up the past month or so!  My loves are growing and changing; learning and testing.  My cup runneth over!

Lagging.

It's only March and I'm officially on year three of "I can't do a 365 project".  It's just not my style.  You can bound me in like that.  I need to be free range in my photography endeavors, apparently.  It's just too much pressure!  And I lose the joy.  So, I am just shooting for joy this year.  Maybe not every day.  Maybe not artsy and amazing.  But I am certain that I will capture some moments that show the joy in my life.

Most of them, obviously, are my kids.  The butter to my bread; the knees on my bees; the pajamas on the cat.  Every single day there comes a moment in the chaos where I stop and think, "Huh.  I cannot believe they are mine.  That is crazy."  Crazy in a good way: in a "how did I ever function without their faces" way.  It is crazy.

Sometimes, those moments come when they're sleeping.  Our days are out of control, and life with three small children is so full and so busy that sometimes, I'll admit, I forget to choose joy.  When they're sleeping, though... oh, when they sleep!  It can be hard for me to stop looking at them.  I cannot resist laying a kiss on them when they sleep.  They are perfection.

Sometimes my "wow, I'm lucky" moments come when they play!  I love to watch them be little, and oh, how I pray that they have no fear when it comes to staying little as long as they would like.  Today, while at my mom's house, Katie was playing with my old Barbies.  I had to giggle, because I am fairly certain I played with those Barbies WAY longer than girls play with Barbies today.  But I think that was the norm at that time.  We weren't in a huge rush to be grown ups.  I want that for my babies.  I want Katie to play Barbies for too long.  To be fearlessly childish while she is a child.

This face.  He kills me.  We have a video of him rebuking me out of "his chair" and making this face and I think we watch it at least once a day, because it makes us laugh so hard.

All too often, my "moments" arise as I realize how quickly they are growing up.  Too quickly.  I blinked, and suddenly Kennedy is only weeks away from her first birthday.  What a trip.  She is tiny- a 20th percentile peanut- but she is just the cutest, tiny little love.  Like any 11 month old, she scoots around looking for trouble and getting into things she isn't supposed to.  She usually heads for trouble, starting with a squeal of delight- like she knows its a no-no.

And lastly, my moments show up when I see them together.  I never had a sibling to compare their experience to, but watching them, I feel like I am a part of some sweet secret that only siblings can understand.  I can't "get it" 100%, but I feel like I'm learning something that I never really knew before. Does that make sense?  Maybe not, but that's the only way to describe it.  It's like they have a need for each other, no matter how much they drive each other crazy.

My sweet superheroes.  Able to steal my heart with a single smooch.

So that has been our February and March!  Just living the dream!